I don’t understand the administration position on this issue:
The Bush administration is objecting to the creation of a .xxx domain, saying it has concerns about a virtual red-light district reserved exclusively for Internet pornography.
Michael Gallagher, assistant secretary at the Commerce Department, has asked for a hold to be placed on the contract to run the new top-level domain until the .xxx suffix can receive further scrutiny. The domain was scheduled to receive final approval Tuesday.
“The Department of Commerce has received nearly 6,000 letters and e-mails from individuals expressing concern about the impact of pornography on families and children,” Gallagher said in a letter that was made public on Monday.
The sudden high-level interest in what has historically been an obscure process has placed the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) in an uncomfortable position. ICANN approved the concept of an .xxx domain in June and approval of ICM Registry’s contract to run the suffix was expected this week.
It seems to me this is precisely the sort of thing the governmentr would favor, as it would provide a relatively easy way to create filtering software and prevent children from viewing objectionable material. Unless of course, this is just moral posturing and that the real problem isn’t that pornographic materials exist and can be obtained by minors, but that pornographic materials exist at all. That wouldn’t be surprising, as this administration has show itself willing to treat adults like the government’s children on more than one occasion.